Just a Taiwanese-American blogging about his travels outdoors and occasionally about his thoughts on life.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Bouldering Weekend in Bishop, California, United States part 1

I tried gathering as many people as possible for my trip to Bishop but alas, I could only muster my good friend Keira. Everyone had their reasons and ultimately, it was just two bouldering aficionados off into the desert.

We left the Bay Area around 4pm and were fortunate enough to access highway 120 through Yosemite. Highway 120 typically closes around snow season and opens whenever the roads are safely cleared. To find out exactly when the pass opens, check out Yosemite's official site and the Department of Travel(DOT) site. In my opinion, both should provide confidence whether or not you can pass, but the DOT is usually more up to date than Yosemite's. By using the pass, you shave about an hour off your trip and you also get a glimpse of the park's beauty.

On the way East, I had to stop by the REI in Pleasanton to get propane. Seeing how we were stopped already, we also decided to get lunch. Those two simple choices, ended up costing us a lot of time in terms of traffic (my fault). When we entered town, we were ahead of Bay Area commute, when we finished lunch, we were in the thick of it. Luckily, side streets allowed us to bypass most of the stop and go traffic.

At the time, it didn't seem like getting propane for my Jetboil was worth it, seeing how Keira had a stove set already, but later on, it turned out to be the proper choice (in my opinion).

By the time we got to Bishop, it was around 11pm. Not only that, but the site was plagued by a terrible wind that made setting up the tent annoying. Nonetheless, we managed to prop our tents up and call it a night.